Description
Composed by: David Leisner (1982)
Instrumentation: Guitar, flute, and violin.
Commissioned by and dedicated to John Schneider
Four Dances, inspired by a lithograph by the early-20th American, George Bellows, Called Dance in a Madhouse (four groups of asylum inmates are highlighted and here are their dances Leisner wrote for each.
Movements
1. Tango Solitaire (is for the woman dancing a stylish dance, alone)
2. Waltz for the Old Folks (for a happy couple who appear to be comfortable with their insanity)
3. Ballad for the Lonely (forlorn, despairing couple of women, sitting on the sidelines)
4. Samba (for the middle-aged couple dancing a wild, dizzy dance
20 pages
duration 12' 